Heater for mining and for other purposes.



J. R. QUAIN.

HEATER FOR MINING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 16,1915.

1,174,444. Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

Fig.1.

Witnesses.

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JQHN ROBERT QUAIN, 3F LONDON, ENGLAND.

HEATER FOR MINING AND F93. OTHER EUR-PGSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. fl, 1916.

Application filed March 16, 1915. Serial lIo. 14,761.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ROBERT QUAIN,

a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at l?Victoria street, London, S. W., England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements Relating to Heaters for Mining and for otherPurposes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to heaters for mining and for other purposes.

In certain mining districts of cold countries such as Siberia, Alaska,and the Klondike district of Canada, it is necessary to thaw the groundbefore mining operations are possible, and for this purpose metal tubesare usually employed, which are forced into the ground where it is to beworked, after steam has been applied until the ground is thawed.

Now the object of this invention is to provide a heater that does notdepend for its utility on the use of steam and one in which greater heatis capable of being applied and to provide a heater that is moreconvenient and effective. p

According to the invention I provide a heater as a tube having at itslower extremity a spiked or pointed shoe, and I mount within this tubean electric resistance element, so that the heat generated by thepassage of current through the resistance wire is readily conductedtothe outer surface of the shoe and the outer surface of the tube, so thaton the heater being introduced into a hole first formed to receive it inthe ground that is to be prepared for working or on its being forcedinto position the heat generated is transmitted to the adjacent ground.A number of such heaters may be introduced into the ground to be worked,whereby the ground is quickly thawed= By such means mining can be veryexpeditiously carried out.

The invention is illustrated by way of ex ample in the accompanyingdrawing in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of such a heater, Fig.'2 is a detail side elevation of the head of the heater, Fig. 3, is asectional plan on the line :c-w (Fig. 1), Figfi is a sectional plan onthe line y'y (Fig. 1),

Fig. 5 is a sectional planon the line z-z (Fi 1), while Fig. 6 is adetail elevation of t e resistance element within the socket fitting bywhich it is carried.

In carrying the invention into effect as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, I provide the heater in tubular sections a a which may beconnected together by screws as at a or by other suitable means such asis usual, for example, in well-boring outfits, and I mount or screw atthe lower extremity of the tube a a spiked or pointed shoe 1). I

I prefer to provide this latter with an upwardly protruding part 6 whichis adapted to pass into the central hole or cavity 0 in I the electricresistance element d, so that thus an annular space is formed in thelower part or section a of the heater into which the electric resistanceelement d fits.

The upper part b of the shoe 7) is advantageously made of a slightlylarger diameter than that of the lower section of the heater, so thatthus the hole made in the frozen ground is slightly larger in diameterthan the main part of the heater andthus the heater may readily bewithdrawn therefrom.

I may employ any suitable form of electric resistance element [2, but Iprefer that illustrated in -vertical section in Fig. 1, which consistsof an integral double tube d d of fused silica, the inner tube al havinga resistance filament e such as nickel-chrome wound upon it, therespective extremities of which are secured to integral-buttons ofsilica (i d secured upon the inner tube. The outer tube d is fusedat-its respective ends to the inner tube 03 as illustrated and thus theannular space between the tubes is completely inc'losed and may befilled with an inert gas or exhausted, while at the upper end smalltubes 7 of silica -are fused to the upper edge of the double tube d dand are provided for a lead or mercury seal g. The conductors h arerespectively secured to pieces of conducting wire it which are fused inthe upper ends of the tubes 7, while the lower ends of the tubes 7 arenipped at the filament .9. At one side the conducting wire k may'passthrough a loose tube of silica j so-as to avoid short circuiting theconvolutions of the resistance filament e across which it traverses.

The inner tube (Z is preferably provided with a thread of fused silica eor is otherwise formed to provide helical grooves within which theresistance filament a may lie so that thus contact of adjacentconvolutions may be avoided. Such a resistance element d isadvantageously-mounted within a cylindrical socket fitting is adapted toloosely fit and to slide into position in the lower tubular section a ofthe heater. This fitting k may be provided of any suitable metal and theresistance element may be fitted therein, for example, by causing theintegral tubes f f to embed within a plaster of Paris or cement fillingZ; while the fitting it may extend downwardly from the part at which thefilling Z is provided, and be cut into a number of longitudinal strips76 of a length corresponding to the length of the resistance element d.Each alternate strip k may be turned inwardly at its extremity asindicated in Figs. 1 and 6 to engage beneath the lower edge of theresistance element (2.

The fitting it is contracted at its upper extremity to form a centralboss m, into which the lower end of a centrally disposed tube n maypass, the end of the tube at being advantageously brazed or otherwisepermanently secured to the boss m. The conductors h advantageously passthrough holes provided in a non-conducting plug 0 fitted in the lowerextremity of the tube 11,. A screw threaded connecting collar p isprovided to connect the upper end of the tube a to the flexible metallictube g, which passes upwardly through the upper section a or sections ofthe heater, for connection with a source of electric current supply.

The lower end of the resistance element d carried within the socketfitting it rests upon a spiral spring r carried within the recess bformed in the shoe b while similarly the upper end of, the socketfitting k rests under a spiral spring 0" whose upper end bears againstthe plate or collar 8 which is secured in position by means of screwpins 8 at the upper end of the lower tubular section a, so that thus theresistance element (1 while being firmly held in position, is so mountedas not to be directly. subject to the shocks that would be imparted tothe tool in its use. I

It is preferred to arrange around the outer tube d of the resistanceelemental and within the bore of the heater means for insuring contactand effective conduction of heat between the electric resistance elementand the casing or tube. Such means "may take any suitable form, forexample, coils or rin s t of spiral metallic wire may be app ied aroundthe lower part of the element d which while permitting of the easyintroduction of the socket carrying the electric resistance element intoposition will insure direct metallic connection with the tubular sectiona. Similarly the upwardly protruding part b of the shoe 7) may havecoils or rings 13 of spiral metallic wire applied upon it as indicated,for the purpose of in- I I provide the upper end of the uppermostsection a of the heater with a head it for the purpose ofhammering or ofapplying pressure to the heater. The head it is provided with a hollowboss M for the reception of the upper extremity of the part a of theheater, and with a view to render the head it capable of easy removal Iprovide upon it a cam lever 11?, which is mounted upon a pin a betweenbrackets 10*, integrally formed upon the boss 'u the latter beingprovided with a slot at a position between the brackets 14 within whichthe cam lever is disposed. The inwardly protruding edge of the cam leveru is provlded with a series of serrations by which the upper end of thesection a of the 'heater may be engaged, and be gripped against acorresponding series of serrations a (Fig. 3) provided in an oppositeposition on the inner face of the boss u, so that thus when the camlever u is brought into the position indicated in Fig. 2, the upperextremity of the tube a is firmly secured against the opposite side ofthe boss u.

The metallic tube 9 through which the conductors it pass may beconveniently diverted outwardly through a lateral hole u in the head.The head it may be provided with a' diametricalhole for the reception ofhandle u by means'of which the heater may be manipulated...

The shoe 6 may be provided of any desired or suitable shape. It may, forexample, have a transverse section of square shape, or with threads orblades in a similar manner to an earth auger; or. instead or in additionthreads or blades may be provided upon the casing or outer tube of theheater.

In the use of the apparatus the heater may its reception or where thecharacter of the ground permits the heater may be forced into positionby applying pressureupon the handle it or pressure may be applied byhammering upon the head it. Where the heater is used in forming the holethe provision of threads or blades upon the shoe or upon the. lower endof the casing may facilitate the operation.

It will thus be understood that according to the character of the groundto be worked the manner of use of the tool may be modified whilefurthermore according to necessity a resistance element of anyparticular be placed in holes that are already bored for length may beprovided or more than one such element may be used arranged in axialline or disposed in parallel positions while the casing of the heaterand the manner in which the respective resistance elements are connectedmay be modified accordingly.

It will furthermore be understood that the casing or tube may beprovided in sections so that the tool may be formed into any particularlength as may be required according to the conditions of working.

I prefer to provide the casing or tube sections of steel.

Further I may employ either continuous or alternating current andwherealternating current is employed the magnetic eddy current action uponthe part b or core will serve to assist in raising and maintaining theheat necessary for the effective use of the tool.

I claim 1. A heating tool comprising a casing or tube, a shoe mounted atthe lower extremity of said casing or tube, said shoe having an inwardlyprotruding part forming an annular space at the lower end of said casingor tube, an electric resistance element of annular form mounted withinsaid annular space and elastic metal rings mounted between the saidelement and the said casing or tube and the inwardly protruding part ofsaid shoe respectively substantially as described.

2. A heating tool comprising a casing or tube, a shoe mounted at thelower extremity of said casing or tube, an electric resistance elementmounted within said casing or tube, and a removable head mounted uponthe upper end of the said casing or tube, said head being provided withmeans for securing it to the said casing or tube and with a handle bymeans of which the tool may be manipulated, substantially as described.

3. A heating tool comprising a casing or tube, a shoe mounted at thelower extremity of said casing or tube, an electric resistance elementof silica completely inclosed and free of air and having integral tubesof silica provided with seals through which the current passes to andfrom the electric resistance wire of the said elementmouilted within thesaid tube and adapted to impart heat to the lower extremity of the saidcasing or tube and to the said shoe substantially as described.

4. A heating tool comprising a casing or tube, closed at its lower endand having at its lower end an inwardly protruding part forming anannular space, an electric resistance element of silica of annular formcompletely inclosed and free of air adapted to fit Within the saidannular space, and spiral springs between which the said element ismounted within the tube, substantially. as described.

JOHN ROBERT QUAIN. Witnesses:

WILLIAM EDWARD Evans, R. O. HUGHES.

said casing or Y

